Imperfect Families With Imperfect People

When I was in college I remember having a conversation with a friend of mine. We were talking about families. I argued that family is, to an extent, one of the few things you can (or at least should be able to) count on, families are worth fighting for. I have been very lucky to have a family that is very close & loving. My friend, on the other hand, was not so lucky. He doesn't get along with his family at all really. Yes, there are times when his family plays nice, and gets along. But for the most part, his family isn't very nice to him, and as a result he has a lot of hurt and pain. He argued that very rarely do families get along and for the most part, can't stand each other. Can you count on your family? Or are they just a big disappointment full of hurt and pain? Is there any such thing as "The Perfect Family"?

I think the answers to these questions become clear when you realize a huge truth about families. Family is full of people & people are not perfect, which means that family is not perfect. There is no family in the world that is perfect. Every family has issues & problems. My own family, although we are close & loving, are not perfect. We may look good, but I know I have caused my family pain and at times they have caused me pain. There maybe families that look good, but every family has some conflict that they will go through, at some point or another there is hurt & pain. The world is full of broken families, and families are full of hurt & pain. But what do we do with that hurt & pain? How do we respond when our families make us mad or sad, when they cause us hurt & pain?

Join us tomorrow at Crash we will begin a new series called Teens Vs. Parents. It's about the relationship between students & their parents. Over the course of the next 4 weeks we will look at different aspects of that relationship. We'll start off tomorrow night, by looking at the idea of the perfect family and how we should deal with the fact that no family is perfect because no person is perfect. I hope to see you tomorrow night at Crash.